Baseball

Four Players Represent the Frontier League in the 2019 Home Run Derby

Jul 08, 2019

The Frontier League is proud to announce its four participants in this year's Home Run Derby taking place in Rockland County, New York on Tuesday, July 9. They include Evansville's Ryan Long and Carlos Castro, as well as River City's Braxton Martinez and Washington's Hector Roa.

The Otters are benefitting from two quality bats in their lineup that rank among the top of the Frontier League in power. Long is not only hitting for a high batting average (.291), but he leads the league in slugging percentage (.530) and is tied for the lead in home runs (nine). The 25-year-old played three seasons at Texas Tech and has spent all of his three professional seasons with Evansville.

Castro, meanwhile, is third in the league in slugging percentage (.518) and tied for second in home runs (eight). The first baseman of the Otters is in his second season in Evansville after spending his first six professional years with the Atlanta Braves. Castro is from La Romana, Dominican Republic and signed with Atlanta as an 18-year-old in 2012.

Martinez fills out the right-handed batters box at 6-3, 220 pounds and was a four-year player in the Atlantic 10 Conference at St. Louis University. This is the third baseman's fourth season with River City and boasts 36 career home runs in the Frontier League. This season, Martinez has eight home runs and a .524 slugging percentage, which ranks second in the league.

Roa is in his eighth professional season and third in the Frontier League, which has all been spent with the Wild Things. In his previous two seasons, the 24-year-old played in 187 of 192 games for Washington and has 34 career home runs. Roa signed with the Houston Astros as a 17-year-old and spent five years with the organization before establishing himself as one of the best hitters in the Frontier League.

All-Star events begin with the All-Star Charitable Luncheon featuring New York Yankees' broadcaster John Sterling on Tuesday, July 9. The Home Run Derby takes place that night and features former New York Yankees and Mets players Mookie Wilson, Jesse Barfield, and John Flaherty.